Recitals 1954-1969 [BOX SET] [IMPORT]

Maria Callas (Composer), Joseph Roukleau (Composer), Joseph Rouleau (Composer), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Vincenzo Bellini (Composer), Hector Berlioz (Composer), Arrigo Boito (Composer), Alfredo Catalani (Composer), Gustave Charpentier (Composer), Luigi Cherubini (Composer), Francesco Cilea (Composer), Leo Delibes (Composer), Gaetano Donizetti (Composer), Umberto Giordano (Composer), Christoph Willibald Gluck (Composer), Charles Gounod (Conductor), Jules Massenet (Conductor), Giacomo Meyerbeer (Conductor), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Performer), Giacomo Puccini (Performer), Gioachino Rossini (Artist), Camille Saint-Saens (Artist), Gaspare Spontini (Artist), Ambroise Thomas (Artist), Giuseppe Verdi (Artist), Carl Maria von Weber (Artist), Georges Prêtre (Artist), Nicola Rescigno (Artist), Tullio Serafin (Artist), Duncan Robertson (Artist), John Lanigan (Artist)

Product Details

• Performer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giacomo Puccini
• Conductor: Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet, Giacomo Meyerbeer
• Composer: Maria Callas, Joseph Roukleau, Joseph Rouleau, Ludwig van Beethoven, Vincenzo Bellini, et al.
• Audio CD (August 12, 2002)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 11
• Format: Box set, Import
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B00000631A
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #473,150 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable, August 8, 2000

By	Niya (USA) - See all my reviews

This 11-CD set is titled "Recitals 1954-1969." The title can be misleading although it's not intentional. These CD's are not "live" recordings of actual recitals Callas gave in 1954-1969; instead, these are official studio recordings of opera arias she made for EMI during this period.

This beautiful set includes all 11 of the aria albums of the new EMI Callas Edition (except "Live in Concert" and "The EMI Rarities"):

CD 1: Maria Callas at La Scala; CD 2: Lyric & Coloratura Arias; CD 3: Mad Scenes; CD 4: Verdi Arias Vol. I; CD 5: Verdi Arias Vol. II; CD 6: Verdi Arias, Vol. III; CD 7: Puccini Arias; CD 8: Rossini & Donizetti Arias; CD 9: Mozart, Beethoven & Weber; CD 10: Callas in Paris, Vol. I; CD 11: Callas in Paris, Vol. II

The CD's in this set are all individually packaged (each CD has its own case and booklet) just as what you'll get when you buy them separately. The advantage of buying this set, therefore, is its reduced price and the slipcase that holds these 11 single CD's. This is a convenient way to collect all of Callas's official solo albums.

A lot of these performances are legendary and absolutely essential, and no serious Callas collector will regret buying this set.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can A Callas Fan actually live without this?, November 7, 2004

By	Exequiel H. Pitargue - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This collection is the best because it does not only allow you to have to whole set in a cheaper price but it lets you feel Callas in her intimate moment without other singers. That way we get to feel her voice alone. What is great about the la Divina is that her voice does not only sound good but it acts by itself. You don't have to see her to feel the character is singing. Some recordings are not in her "prime" but who cares. No soprano in living memory can surpass her acting and emotional voice. Other sopranos may sound like an angel but you would have to look at the libretto to understand and create the emotion. For someone like me whose native tough is not Italian, or French emotion to the song is more important. I can boldly say that some arias here are better performed that her complete opera series just like In Questa Reggia in Turandot and the Madam Butterfly arias. So if you have the buck don't hesitate buy this complete collection. This is a Maria Callas collection that is indispensable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long Day's Journey. . ., June 18, 2005

By	Opera-rater "Christopher" (Fayetteville, AR) - See all my reviews

This is a must have for the serious Callas fan, and perhaps will only
be completely understood by one who knows the long journey of
this artist. From the "fat" Callas with voice to spare to the soignee
diva with only a shred of sound left, her musical and interpretive
intent is always clear, always penetrating, always atonishing.

Compare these studio recordings to the re-issued live concert recordings on EMI to get a more complete picture of Callas. For the new listener, some of the later recordings on the recital set will be
troubling, for many times you have to listen "past" the voice itself.

For those of us who already owned these recordings in some form, it
is nice to have them new and clean.